4th Connecticut Regiment - The History Junkie

The 4th Connecticut Regiment was raised on April 27, 1775, at Hartford, Connecticut. The regiment would see action in the Invasion of Canada. After which, the regiment was disbanded on December 20, 1775, and reformed on September 16, 1776, to fight in the Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, and the Battle of Monmouth. The regiment was merged along with the 3rd Connecticut Regiment into the 1st Connecticut Regiment on January 1, 1783, at West Point, New York.

When researching an ancestor, it is important always to get as close to the primary source as possible. If you had an ancestor who was from Connecticut and fought in the American Revolutionary War, then begin your research by studying the Connecticut Line and the individual regiments that formed it. Each regiment has its own history, and knowing their story helps provide context to what your ancestors experienced.

The regiment was authorized once again on September 16, 1776, in the Continental Army as the 4th Connecticut Regiment and re-organized again on January 1, 1777, in Norwich, Connecticut, to consist of eight companies from New London, Windham, and Hartford Counties.
This reorganized regiment participated in the Defense of Philadelphia Campaign (Fall and early winter 1777) and included the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Whitemarsh in Pennsylvania.
They winter quartered at Valley Forge(1777-1778) as part of the Rhode Island Brigade under the command of Brigadier General James Varnum under Commander Major General Charles Lee. Field officers included Colonel John Durkee, Lt. Colonel Giles Russell, and Major John Sumner.
After Valley Forge, the regiment fought in the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778, and the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, which signaled the surrender of the British Army.
Of the force that took Redoubt # 10 at Yorktown, under the command of Alexander Hamilton, some 20 men of the 4th Connecticut crashed through the abattis without waiting for the sappers to clear it. Some 70 British soldiers remained in the redoubt to try to stand their ground. The battle took all of 10 minutes. The American army was victorious.
The regiment reformed again in January 1781 by redesignating the old 6th Connecticut and served until January 1, 1783, when it broke up.
Half of its remaining enlisted men were incorporated into the 1st Connecticut Regiment and a half into the 3rd Connecticut Regiment under commander Zebulon Butler.

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